Broken Feelings
by SoaringEagle11
Summary: Kendall can't bring herself to admit what's upsetting her.


This morning was a morning unlike any other. I had become a Power Ranger the day before today and now, I was scared. The nightmare I had just had left me sweating all over and the world was suddenly flashing all around me. But that wasn't what was making me like this. No, it was something else. Something to do with him...

No! No, I can't think about him. I can't think about anything like that! I don't want to end up like I did last time. Shaking my head, I got dressed and slipped my glasses onto my face as I headed out to the museum.

"Hey, Miss Morgan!" I sighed as I heard the familiar voice behind me. Can't I be left in peace for once? I darted into the museum as Chase kept calling behind me. A pink mist began to cloud my mind. _It's him!_

"No!" I slammed my fist against the wall, sending pain radiating up my arm. But I didn't care; I had to stop these thoughts in my mind. I was thrown to the asphalt once and I wouldn't let it happen again!

"Miss Morgan, are you okay?" I let out a breath of relief when I heard Shelby's anxious voice behind me. Finally, someone I could talk to! I spun around. Maybe, just maybe, I could trust her. I took in a deep breath. "Yes, Shelby. But it's none of your business."

Shelby blinked in surprise. "Whatever it is, you can tell me. Is it about-?"

"Leave me alone!" I snapped. "It's nothing you need to know about."

"Miss Morgan..."

I wasn't listening anymore. I couldn't. Too many memories. It was too much for me. I pushed Shelby away and walked down the museum hall. The air smelled fresh and as the many exhibits came into view, the sounds of birds chirping and leaves rustling filled the air. The noises of nature usually warm my heart, but this time around, everything felt dull, as if all the happiness in the word was being sucked into a giant black hole. What is wrong with me? Why did I just snap at Shelby like that? Then I remembered. It was a long time ago, way before I met the other Rangers. Wait a second, it's happening again! No, no, no! I finally began to breathe as I entered the Dino Lab, feeling afraid and suspicious of myself. The lab was empty, which made me feel more relaxed. I stood at one of the counters and gently placed my hands on the smooth, white surface. Now I had plenty of time to ponder these feelings that were rushing through my mind.

"What is troubling you, Kendall?" I jumped as Keeper's voice reached my ears from behind me, making me spin around, blinking in shock.

"I- it's n- nothing..." I stammered.

"Something is wrong. It's in your eyes." I looked down, my face growing hot with shame.

"I told you, it's nothing."

"If you don't want to talk to me, then maybe you'll want to talk to them." As if on cue, the lab doors opened and Shelby, Tyler, Ivan, Chase, Koda, and Prince Phillip walked out, their suspicious gazes trained on me. Chase's silent stare caught mine, causing me to look away at the wall. I was embarrassed, just like that time long ago... _Oh no!_

"Come on, Miss Morgan, open up to us," Tyler protested.

I glared at them, anger flooding my body. "I don't need to share _everything_ with you guys! I don't need to trust all my secrets with you!"

"Whoa, Kendall, calm down," Koda said, putting a hand on my shoulder. I slapped it away and the rest of them looked at me in shock.

"I can't calm down!" I cried, my brown eyes blazing. "Just go away!"

As I stalked out of the lab, I heard Chase whisper to the others, "I'll confront her later," and that sent me over the edge. It feels like they think I'm a skimpy child, someone who needs to be watched every second! What did I do to them to make them feel that way? I tore out of the museum, letting my feet lead me down the sidewalk and across the street. And that's when I realized that someone was tailing me. I wasn't paying attention to anything around me and I didn't notice the speeding car racing toward me. Just as it was it was about to hit me, someone grabbed me and thrust me out of the street onto the opposite sidewalk. It all happened so fast and my vision blurred as I collapsed on the ground.

"Th- thank you," I murmured. _Who is it anyway? Who just saved my life?_

When my eyesight finally cleared, I noticed someone leaning over me, clearing dust from the air around me. The voice that hit me at that moment was familiar the second I heard it and I knew who it was.

"Miss Morgan, are you okay?" _Chase!_

"Yes, thanks to you," I replied gratefully. "Sorry, I guess I wasn't watching where I was going."

"No kidding."

As he helped me up, I thought I saw a flash of emotion in his eyes unlike anything I had ever seen him show before. It was the same thing that I always try not to show.

"You've been really spacing out lately," Chase commented, which made me feel a bit annoyed. "Can you please tell me what's going on?"

"Will you tell the others?"

"Not if you don't want me to."

"Okay. But let's not stay here. Let's go somewhere else."

Chase put his arm around my waist, which began to stir up something within me as he led me over to the park, which was right next to the baseball stadium. I sat down on a bench at the edge of the field and he settled down beside me, readjusting his arm to rest it on my shoulder.

"So... what's going on?"

I took a deep breath. This was it. I had to tell him.

"It's actually about you. You see, I... I have some... some feelings for you. Not just friendship, but... you know what I mean. But I- I was just too nervous to tell you because of something... something else that happened before now."

Chase blinked. "That's so cute that you feel that way, but I need to know what prevented you from telling me before. You're naturally very open with your emotions."

I'm surprised that he thinks that. I didn't know I used to be that good at hiding my feelings. "Actually, I'm not. I just used to be very good at hiding things."

"Wow. I actually admire that about you."

Am I blushing? A little bit, I think. Yikes! Dial it back, Kendall, dial it back.

"Now tell me what happened."

I took a few breaths. Here it comes. The largest catastrophe of my life.

"Okay. This happened a long time ago, which was just a little while before I met you and the other Rangers. I had recently gotten out of college and I met my first boyfriend, Hunter, a short time before I came to work at the museum. He and I had known each other since middle school and I felt happier than ever when he asked me to be his girlfriend. But a while after we started dating, he became jealous of the fact that I had acquired such a good job at the museum. It turned out that he had wanted the same thing, so one day, he broke up with me. But it wasn't just a natural breakup. That day, he attacked me." I stopped for a moment to breathe.

"He really attacked you?"

"Yes. It was at the museum itself, right outside the entrance. He suddenly yelled that he wanted to break up with me, then threw me against the wall and attacked with all of his strength. The museum had just closed and night was coming around, so no one was out to see it. Hunter almost killed me that night. When he was finally finished, he had broken me completely. Before he left, he shouted that people like him would stop at nothing to get what they wanted, especially breaking a heart. What really hurt is that he also said that he hoped that I would have my heart broken forever because I didn't deserve anyone's love."

"Miss Morgan... I- I'm so sorry..."

"You know that if I'm confessing like this, you'll want to call me Kendall."

"Very well, Kendall. But I'm really sorry about what happened to you."

"Ever since then, I've closed my heart to everyone around me, because I've been so afraid of something like that happening again. That's why I didn't tell you that I had feelings for you earlier. I was frightened of rejection."

"Kendall..." His gaze burned into mine. "I would never reject you, because I feel the same way about you."

"Really?" Did he genuinely feel that way? "Are you serious?"

"Yes, I am. When I developed this affection for you, I wanted to tell you as well, but I sensed that something was wrong and I didn't want to make you confused by piling more things on your plate of emotion. That's why I kept trying to coax the truth out of you."

I felt so relieved that I finally had something to confide in about my fears. It was like a ray of sunshine was finally shining upon the field of darkness that had been my life before now.

"So... will you be my girlfriend?"

Wait, he was asking me to be his girlfriend? This was the greatest occasion of my life.

"Chase, of... of course I will."

As he put his other arm around me, I felt a sudden rush of warmth inside me. I rested my head against his chest as I felt our hearts begin to beat as one. _This is amazing. Can this get any better?_

I gently curled up against the one I knew belonged with me and as I did, I closed my eyes and spent countless moments with him, letting him take me into the world that I'd never imagined I could ever enter.


End file.
